Nameless Love Song Of Roses & Cavaliers
by gungidino
Summary: Uta o uta ou daichi no uta o kaze o hidakou hikari abite ... Moshi wa matataki machi wa kirameku ... FUWA FUWA FURURI nemei komete ... Uta o uta ou sekai no uta o doko made ikou Sora o aoi de ... Hito no fuuoe mushi no habataki ... FUWA FUWA FURURI omoi no sete ... (collaborate with some other characters in other series)
Knives, scalpels, bullets, whip, smoke bombs, poisons pockets, antidotes, bulletproof winged coat. Metallic gloves, ready. Scales, attached. Mask, on. Body armor, on. Weapon, loaded.

Gajeel checked the target information again, scanning and remembering every information he could to confirm the percent of his success one last time. Those psychos had hung a massive fat bounty with some 'welfare' benefits on a particular object, and a rank promotion, sweet as fuck; it was not that his rank was going to get any higher since he had already at the exclusive positions that many dreamt of, under three but above thousands. It was none of them this time but one hidden goal Gajeel wanted to achieve.

Ivan and Jose, two big cheeses for the first time, gathered every rats and dogs in the district to give them a changing life opportunity, a charity from them that made dark creatures' life span longer than they normally would ever be. Never mind the methods, never mind what crew or whoever lone ranger, bumped off an old man and you got an insurance of every fucking thing from the major bigshot, frequency of dangerous assignments would fall, rewards would be upgraded properly for each accomplished missions, allowed to own one small business and a personal pet dash guardian from the noble black market.

Seriously, curiosity killed the cat and before Gajeel Redfox even noticed, his heart was pumping vigorously and electrified his whole body and his mind went _soberly_ numb. The secret typical errands he had run for the past weeks collecting 'laundering debts' turned out to be, as he stealthily eavesdropped their meeting, preparations for a part of the grand prize. Gajeel knew this was not worth risking his life, the better the payment the more unpredictable and beyond human's abilities the mission, but he was still trapped under the spell, like a moth attracted to the light and got burned.

When was the last time this rushing wave of adrenaline that not belonged to the powerful satisfaction after receiving a difficult object to assassinate ran through his blood veins ?

Nothing could be more blissful for a caged bird to fly back to its unlimited sky no matter how kind its master. The fear and denial stage conflict when being caught were still fresh despite an amount of which had faded through time, for the bitter taste had been unforgettable. The eventual vision of rotten wings brought life back to the aerial creature's eyes. Death thrived the survival instinct and unyielding will. Facing the broken mirror, a pair of blooded irises reversed the numb agony, letting a faint light ray of hope slip through, such luxurious deed that rarely was proceeded at a place where hope was considered priceless gifts to receive.

Tying his mane up, the black haired male was about to put on his contact lenses when he heard the door creaked and a little girl appeared with an old fluffy stuffed white cat in her tiny arm, she rubbed her sleepy eyes as little feet made way to the older male and wrapped herself around his leg, soft thumping of flesh hit the wooden ground soothed Gajeel's severe concentrating headache.

The male turned around and looked at the little girl, under the blurred lights, his metal studs shone sharply on his face and ears yet they did not seem to scared the child away.

The little girl halted her move to stare at him, "Ani–ue …", her voice indicated she had just awaken seconds ago from the rustling sound of him preparing for his mission. Gajeel gently picked her up, soothing her back and consoled his little sister. "I'm sorry, little one. Did I wake you up ?". Gajeel lightly tabbed her back, starting a rhythm that he knew would lull her back to sleep, her mother used to do the same.

"Ani–ue … 'on't go … S'ay iht' Wen'y … ", the four–year–old begged, hugging him tight with her teddy cat, "Cha'le and me want 'o shleep iht' Ani–ue"

With the dimly lit lightbulbs they had in the kitchen, Gajeel was really tempted to go back to bed and covered him with Wendy under the warm fur duvet, he did not care how the job would turn out but rather indulged himself in the warmth of his sister besides him with her shampoo fragrance helping him relaxed and sleep soundly.

Back in the days, Wendy could not even close his eyes as the haunting nightmare obsessed her greatly, her mental status was even worse on lasting rain nights when a storm hit the city and it made her appetite below zero . He had felt helpless as wondering how he could comfort the little one when even himself could not melt and vaporize that icy thorn which instead of a sobbing mess, it gave him the anger and betrayal bleeding wound. She was too young to bear over–weight sentimental burden and almost broken. Tears that Gajeel had luckily wiped dry still notified their present for the tracks they left were unable to disappear on her face. Fair enough, if he could not cry, Zeref let her take up the extra doing.

They both sought the warmth that was taken away from them, holding her tight and rocking her back and forth was the only solution to find a salvation on which to cling, safe enough to allow them to tip toe timidly to dream land. Pain were meant to feel and how relieved to have another one to share with.

But now was not an appropriate time for that. Gajeel knew the outcome would be a dipshit, and their preparation was not fully finished and safety guaranteed; if anything was messed up, they would be stuck in this dumpster of a district forever. That was the last thing he would do to Wendy's future.

His phone buzzed, the light flickered noticing Gajeel of an incoming message. Gajeel used his other hand to pick it up and recognized it was his long–time comrade.

 _22:45_

 _From: Rain Woman_

 _Subject: I'm at the bedroom's window_

 _I brought some fairy tale books to read for Wendy_

Gajeel replied. _We're coming up_

"Hey, little one, wanna know something great tonight? ", he asked the bundle of sweetheart in his arm, bounced a little "Someone has delivered a bunch of tales for you tonight"

"Fh'aigy 'ales ?", Wendy's head lightly popped up from Gajeel's neck, sobered a bit at the information. "Is Yuvia Anego here ? Will she tell me the mayical shtories she discovered ?"

Thinking she was distracted, Gajeel diverted her attention to her current curiosity, "She has just used her magic to ask me to tell you that she is waiting for you at our bedroom's window. Shall we go and see ?"

"Uh huhm" , she nodded

Gajeel adjusted his hold to make Wendy lie in a more comfortable position as he walked his way back to the stairs, making loud creaking noise every step on the wooden platform, headed towards their room.

.

 _Let's sing a song …The song of the Earth_

 _Hold the wind in your arms_

 _Bask in the light_

 _The stars are twinkling … Shining down upon the streets_

 _Light and bouncy_

 _Be full of hopes..._

.

"The black cat man was amazed at the scene, the glowing nightingale lass' voice was so beautiful that it took the man's breath away. And under the moonlight, even though the black cat's mind was not aware of it, but his heart knew that he was deeply in love with the nightingale lass … That is the end of part one …" Juvia closed the thick, ancient book and set it on the floor.

On the bed, Wendy let out a yawn but tried to keep her eyes open, "The nigh–ingal lady sings beautihully …", fisting her hand around the blanket and sank into its tender feathery feel of fur

"Yes, she does", the cerulean haired female whispered and pulled the blanket up to Wendy's shoulders, "And there's more to come on the black cat and nightingale's adventures … Now, let's go to sleep and we will continue tomorrow night, okay ?". Juvia climbed on the bed and lied beside Wendy.

The four–year–old turned her head to her big brother, "Ani–ue …", she pleaded. Gajeel brushed his fingers through her hair, "Go to sleep, little one. And I promise you I will be back in days and we can have some bacons and eggs instead of potatoes if you want. But I need you to sleep well with Juvia. Wendy is a good child, right ?"

The little girl hummed lightly in affirmation and closed her eyes.

"So he's agreed to armor Gajeel–kun up", Juvia had closed the bedroom door quietly as possible, they did not want to wake Wendy up again, she would be hard to convinced to let Gajeel leave for work. Both of them walked downstairs and returned to the kitchen, "Saying armor up is not quite right also, more like he gives you his old, used tools. Still, Juvia don't like this at all, Gajeel–kun. If Gajeel–kun do this alone, this will turn into a suicidal mission. Let Juvia come and help", she stared worriedly at her only friend in the neighborhood.

Gajeel shrugged off, "Don' beh rehdiculous, woman. Things are a'ready in place, dat ol' basta'd Jose won' accept any changes in da last minute, 'specially when yav just finished wipin' out a famiglia las' week an' still preparin' ta escor' Gemma wit' Head Mistress Orlando back"

Gajeel reached a bottle across the table and poured himself a Scotch on the Rock, although it was not any proper boozes, the taste was not that bad, anymore. Their body had already taken worse than expired alcohol. Scars and injuries, along with health side effects would be imprinted on inches of their body the rest of their life was not something to be underestimated and on display for nothing. While taking his sip, Gajeel started to organize the weapons, opened his wallet to make sure he had the fake ID with him; after that, he moved on to his luggage, cell phones must be at least reach the number of five to make him harder to be tracked down, cash should be enough for him to hold on for a while before he got back, if not, he could snatch some from the people.

Realizing his comrade was not going to put the current matter aside, Gajeel resumed to convince the bluenette, "Riskin' da rewa'd yer gonna get tamarra 's not a wise move; if ya take anymar part–time duties, ei'da it should beh perfectly clean or ya don' hav' any encouragin' bones ta gnaw and we'll beh behind da plan fer Lucifer know how time could lengthen its speed da next 6 months". The studded male teenager reloaded his gun and put it in his gear waist band, along with the bullets and scalpels.

Juvia shook her head, aqua eyes became serious, "This time the target is not just a mere boss, Gajeel–kun. He's the Godfather, protected by assassins and body guards, most of them are ruling the ranks on both the MMA Empire Poll and the CK Empire Hall; that means there are many 'you' around him.

Not to mention their security. I don't know about you but I can be sure that once they activate Skylark Net, you will get caught in no time. If you could get out alive, I'd say one year is the least, let alone forty–nine days for you to actually do the deed and flee"

Forty-nine days was not enough, you should have twice as much the time given to make a clean escape".

He was stepping into a house of hidden flying daggers.

The blue haired female crossed her arms. "Why do Gajeel–kun think Ivan and Jose agree to accept such big loss for the prize on the target's head like that ?". Juvia asked sternly, "What about Wendy ? What will she do if–".

Gajeel interrupted sharply with both of his fists thumping hard on the rusty metal countertop and the sound echoed through the wall, "Juvia". He menaced with a low, predatory voice.

That shut the oceanic haired girl up.

Gajeel slowly turned to Juvia, eyes filled with ice and intimidation, Juvia knew he was serious if her name was called out. "We've known each o'da long 'nough fer ya ta understand dat tis not reputation _or_ thrill I'm pursuin' dis time. So _don't_ stick yer nose in _ma_ beeswax an' _mind_ _yers_ ". His voice threatened to kill. "Take care af Wendy for da next few weeks, I've informed Mash ta come over her while yer goin' on a mission so there'll beh no problem af worryin' 'bout leavin' Wendy alone by herself unprotected … An' fer da last time, Juvia" Gajeel's jaw tensed warningly, " _Stay. Away. From ma job_ "

Juvia was a clever person, she knew when to step down and when to push forward; in the world they were living in, they all have to be the clever.

Using both of their brawl and wit wisely in order not to be someone's pawn, even a sacrifice sheep or accidentally offended outsiders resulted in a plus to their queue of foes; nevertheless, the most vital note for survival, drove people to their corner and forced them to take the drastic way to boost their instinct side, was trying not to get hunted. Hunters hunted the being hunt, the weak either became strong or surrendered themselves to a strong one to survive, the winner were the strong, not the other way around, they did not care how as long as you were the last one standing. And right now, anything stood in Gajeel's way would be eliminated in a blink of an eye. Practically, the countertop was sunken in into a concave shape due to the force of Gajeel's slamming, first exhibit for Juvia.

Knowing it was meaningless to stop what her friend had determined to do, Juvia Lockser could only sighed heavily, "… When will the train leave ?"

"In one hour", Gajeel lit up a cigarette and breathed out a light smoke

"Train ticket ?"

"In ma pocket"

"Two way or one way ?", her heart made a flip of nervous

"… Latter" Gajeel hesitated

Juvia exhaled heavily again, her hand fisted and shuddered from the feeling, but not all from which was fear.

They were both well–aware that this mission was not something like what they had done for years before, this was beyond secret assassinating orders. This was not eliminating mobs or gangs, or even tearing down a famiglia. This was bringing down a force, an influence, ending a reign currently holding a major position on the balanced scale, to make the remaining ruled the entire Underworld and the Border, which somehow could affect significantly the other bright side of life … It was literally like rebelling against Oa's Deadly JIG. And to hell with it, her friend, her comrade was not even acting in the scope of his territory, it was a far and strange land, unguaranteed, unsecured … Definitely a one way ticket only.

"… What ? … So they spring on you Benjamins, yet couldn't even afford a plan B retreat for you ? … Don't joke with me, Gajeel–kun !". Her voice shook and reeked of angry agony. "How much more is enough for them to trust you ? After all you've done ! Are those scars and these bad habits of yours not enough to satisfy their trust and let them rest assured in their sleep ?"

The cold, harsh reality. "… I'd do da same if I'm in deir shoes, woman"

Here they only found jungle rules, but damned them all if they could not even see that there were also jungles of rules under the ice surface.

Gajeel made his final smoke and put out on the ashtray, putting on his contact lenses, tying his mid–length hair up loosely and headed out towards the backyard where his old motorbike had just been upgraded.

 _"_ _Tan~tan~tan~tan … Attention, please. The train leaving for Magnolia is departing at 2:00AM, all passengers are required to step behind the lines at platform 7. Please check your ticket to confirm and step behind the line as soon as possible. Thank you."_

Winter breezes in Oa tore up the fabrics, seeking their way to cut up the flesh they starved for and tasting the metallic fragrance of blood; as Denish was usually hot and humid when the place lied further to the South, it could not crawl away to hide from the weather effect crashing down regions of Oa; Denish, McKenzie Rock, Oak Town, Mirage Summit, Belial County, were all bitten by frosty winds.

The pure white color of snow, somehow preserved its holy halo in the middle of the nastiest trash dump. Reaching out a hand to lift a falling snowflake, the small white spot kissed Gajeel's finger softly and disappeared, leaving a cool itchy feel on his skin.

 _._

 _Wanna come wit' meh ?_

 _._

Gajeel found him shivering at the thought

Wendy's first lonely Christmas was unavoidable, how irritating the fact was. Not to mention, it was not everyday that a talkative meddler was this silent and it made his stomach weirdly screwing around.

"…"

"…"

Not until both of them passed the gate, entered the designated platform was Gajeel too upset to put up with the freaky atmosphere, the taller male decided to take the initiative lead for a conversation

"… If ya have some damn thing ta say then ya'd betta fuckin' say it b'fore I shove ma bag inta yer damn throat, Mash". Gajeel kept walking without glaring at his companion.

"Mah mah~~ Not again, Gajeel~ I haven't even uttered a word with you", the mushroom haired male chuckled cheerfully despite feeling a bitter and sour taste at the tip of his tongue. "Can't I just see my childhood friend dash comrade dash brother in arm off for the last time before he directly sinks himself into an eternal sleep in a coffin?"

This time, the words caught Gajeel to glare directly at the young teenager of same age as him, "Da fuckin' hell yer sayin', Mash ?"

"Oh I don't know, dude; _enlighten_ me, Gajeel if you can, what should I do or say before seeing my brother going straight to death road ?", his brows shot high to his forehead as he tried to quirk his mouth for a smile yet not so like a smile. The fucking stubborn Gajeel Redfox might be goddamn terrifying looking but him, Mash Redfox–the Lupin Kid, the soft–handed famous phantom thief who could steal anything freaking thing like a breeze gazing through fur or skin without being noticed, still had a way to get irritated at his (claimed to be) kin. "You know, I was tempted to actually steal your existence after what Juvia had told me …"

"Modafu–"

"And shush, Gajeel Redfox before I change my mind and drag you the hell out of the train station. I know this is our semi–final step to elope but seriously, man, you should have asked for our cooperation, too. It'd increase your surviving chance", Mash grinned, hoping to waver Gajeel's first intention to act as a lone wolf this time.

Gajeel heavily sighed, "Yer all annoyin' naggin' bitches. Should better die out there ta avoid dis when I return"

Mash did not hesitant to cuff Gajeel's head. "Ow ! Da fuck, Mash ?"

The shorter male chirped upsettingly while narrowing his eyes, "Shitty jokes are not well–taken, Gajeel–chan"

Gajeel gritted through his teeth, "Don' 'chan' me"

 _"_ _Tan~tan~tan~tan … Attention, please. The train leaving for Magnolia is departing in fifteen minutes"_

Mash lifted the heavy luggage bag to Gajeel's shoulder, he patted his friend, "Alright, breakfast is at 7:00AM, lunch is at 12:00AM, dinner is at 6:00PM, late night snack … might be at 10:00PM or nothing at all"

Gajeel made a scandalous face, "Why da heck are ya tellin' me dis shit ?"

"Mah~ mah~ You tend to miss your meal so damn often so a reminder wouldn't do much harm now, would they ?", Mash laughed nonchalantly.

The train arrived, a silence grew between both boys, none were looking at each other. There was no turning back now if they wanted. Flicking a lighter he took from the right pocket, Mash smiled wryly, tried to hide the depressed vomiting that was about to burst.

"Come back, 'kay ? … That bundle of joy always remembering to save a proportion of meal for you"

The black–haired boy scoffed lightly, "Tch ! Don' I always…"

"Chicken soup at 3:00 in the morning" Mash shook his head, "No, dumbass, you always skip or usually eat at some weird periods", he blew out a bit of smoke to the air, "I am taking advance on your leaving to adjust Wendy–chan's food diagram; Lil' sweetheart cannot eat Cheerios at midnight anymore. She will get fat and all"

Gajeel smirked at the fact, "She's also a Redfox, she can do whatever she wants, an' she is absolutely deserved ta beh spoiled, no matter how crazy da thing is", the black haired solemnly whispered at the last part, "I'd rather she's fat than hungry fer food"

The express train stopped with a loud shriek, people streamed their way on the silver, rusty transportation.

"How many know your true eyes' color ?", Mash asked

"… None". Gajeel answered after thoroughly checking their surrounding

"How many actually know your true eyes' color ?"

.

"None"

.

Gajeel smirked, "Worrywart"

"Well, someone has to, jerk"

.

A song from the radio control room was broadcasted, it was a song for Christmas Eve, Silent Night

Gajeel hung his bag over his shoulders and boarded the compartment, "Ya know, dis is not g'bye"

"Damn straight it should _not_ be, Redfox"

And the door closed. The express train roared its engine and ran on the railway line, on its way to the final destination.

And the Wheel of Fate also began to roll.


End file.
